


Little Promises

by Anatemnein



Category: Designing Women
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:22:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22605430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anatemnein/pseuds/Anatemnein
Summary: An aching back leads to an interesting conversation between Anthony and Julia about New Year's resolutions.
Relationships: Anthony Bouvier/Julia Sugarbaker
Comments: 5
Kudos: 8





	Little Promises

**Author's Note:**

> This story is rated 'T' for the mentions of domestic violence.

~~~~

"Hey Anthony, how're those workouts coming?"

"Terrible, Mary Jo, thanks for asking" Anthony huffed, half-bending to put the crackers back in the cupboard without bothering the strain in his back. 

"It's not a bad New Year's resolution, you and Charlene pumping a little iron together every morning to get in shape. I know she's been wanting to lose that baby weight for a while" Mary Jo said, getting up from her desk chair and walking over to the counter where Anthony was attempting to put peanut butter on the crackers in front of him.

"Uh-huh" Anthony replied half-hardheartedly, feeling his back muscles seize in agony. Truthfully, he should've known better than to let Charlene talk him into an extra set of sit-ups, but his ego had gotten the better of him, and he decided risking it seemed smarter than letting her best him in the gym; it wasn't until the tenth curl-up that he'd pulled the muscle that was now throbbing in pain. He'd managed to make it through the work day, but by now he was seriously regretting his decision to get in shape, which really had only been motivated by a desire to impress Julia.

The door swung open and Charlene, Suzanne and Julia marched inside, calling out their hello's as Mary Jo jumped off the bar stool and walked over to her desk to grab her things and head home for the day. 

"How's your back, darlin'?" Julia asked as she walked over to where Anthony stood, worry tightening the muscles in her face.

"I'm okay, Julia," Anthony said, trying to put on a brave face, "I just need to sit down. Been a long day!" He let out a short laugh, not wanting her to worry more than he knew she had. She had attempted to send him home this morning, but Anthony--stubborn as she was--had plowed through the workday in spite of her worried glances and protests.

"Well, come on, darlin', let's sit down over here, poor thing" she said softly, leading him over to the sofa and setting the crackers on the table for him. 

"I'm so sorry, Anthony, I feel just awful--"

"It's okay, Charlene, it's just my back. You did great though!" he said, smiling up at her as she stood by the door, purse and coat in hand.

"It's what you get for being stupid" Suzanne snapped, throwing him a harsh glance.

 _"Suzanne!"_ Julia snapped as she whirled her head around.

"Goodnight y'all, hope you feel better, Anthony" Mary Jo said, following the others and shutting the door behind her.

Julia turned to Anthony, who was leaning against the back of the couch and trying his best not to look as miserable as he felt.

"Darlin'," she said gently, stroking his leg, "can I get you anything?"

"No, no, I'm okay, baby, I just need to rest for about 10 years and then I'll be right as rain."

Julia stifled a giggle, the sight of him pressed into her sofa with his arms crossed making him look like a child. She hesitated for a moment, then said, "Anthony, why on earth have you been on this exercise kick?"

"For New Years" he replied grumpily.

"You trying to get in shape?" she asked, rather confused.

"Me and Charlene."

"You know you've got to be careful with your back, hun."

"I can see that now" he said, throwing her a glare and wincing slightly.

Julia paused for a moment before kicking off her heels and curling her feet underneath her on the sofa, grabbing a pillow and hugging it against her chest. She smiled at Anthony, who was staring at the ground, a mixture of pain and agitation on his face. 

"Have I ever told you about my New Year's resolution from two years ago?"

At this, Anthony glanced up at her curiously, furrowing his brow slightly. "No, I don't think so. Was this before my time?"

Julia giggled a little and nodded her head. "Yes, indeed. This was just after Reese and I broke up, right before you decided to take me to dinner and come on to me."

"Hey now, I wasn't the only one doin' any flirting that night at The Southern Plate. If memory serves you were dishing out as much as I was giving" Anthony replied, shooting her a pointed look.

Julia giggled again, shaking her head before continuing. "Well, regardless of whether or not you want to admit to making the first move--"(at this Anthony shot her another glare) "--I had already made myself my New Year's resolution, and had no intention of breaking it."

"I see."

"Would you like to know what that resolution was...?" she asked, pouting a little at his moodiness.

The disappointment in her eyes was enough to soften Anthony, and he cocked his head slightly and nodded. "Yes, baby, you've got me wondering now."

"Well, I had just broken up with Reese, and I told myself that for New Year's, I was going to swear off men completely. No dating, no falling in love, no nothing. I wanted nothing to do with your kind."

"Oh really?" Anthony said, cocking a curious brow at her.

"Mm-hm" Julia replied, nodding vigorously. "In fact, when you took me on our first date, I was still determined to hold onto my little resolution, and I had no intention of falling in love with you, at _all_."

"And what did I do to change all that?" Anthony asked, half-smiling at her. It was moments like these that tugged at his heartstrings more than any others; Julia, curled up somewhere, looking over at him with her large, doe eyes, a girlish expression fixed on her face as she got excited about something. As much as her Terminator persona amused him, Anthony realized that it was during quiet conversations like these that he really got to know Julia, to learn what made her tick and why she was who she was.

"You kissed me" she replied simply, smiling shyly at her lap.

"I kissed you?"

"Mm-hm, when you dropped me off after dinner that night. You walked me to my front door and kissed me goodnight, and I knew then that my resolution wasn't worth a damn anymore."

Anthony chuckled in spite of himself, looking at her in amusement. "One little kiss? All these years of daydreaming about you, and you're saying if I'd have kissed you sooner you would've sworn off that nonsense with Reese Watson?"

"It's all your fault" Julia teased, shaking her head at him.

Anthony chuckled again, waiting for her to continue. 

Julia looked down at the pillow in her arms, and paused before saying quietly, "You know, Reese had a nickname for me when we were together."

"A nickname?"

"Mm-hm. He used to call me 'brother' sometimes, just to be funny."

Anthony furrowed his brow in bewilderment. "Brother?" he asked. He didn't think if he thought about that for a week he could figure why on earth Reese would call someone as feminine as Julia something like that.

"Yeah. He'd call me that, sometimes, when I was getting boisterous, you know, doing my Terminator spiel."

Anthony opened his mouth to reply, then decided against it, sensing Julia just wanted to talk to him, and so he waited for her to say more.

"And then..," she trailed off, shrugging her shoulders awkwardly, still avoiding eye contact, "I think, sometimes, he did it to make it seem like I was on equal footing, you know, 'one of the boys'." Julia paused again, inhaling slowly, and fiddling with the edge of the pillow. "I think it made him feel better about how he treated me sometimes. Like, when he would get angry, and shove me a little, it wasn't as bad, somehow..."

Anthony inhaled, wanting to say something, but pausing nervously instead. He'd never pushed Julia for information about her relationship with Reese, but what little she'd told him over the passed two years had painted an ugly picture that none of them had--to his recollection--been keen to. He'd never particularly liked Reese, but he'd also spent very little time around him, and whatever interactions he could remember between Reese and Julia had always seemed normal. Still, Anthony had always had a nagging, odd sense that something wasn't quite right, but Anthony had also been warned by Dondi to tread lightly where things with Reese were concerned.

_"Be careful what you say to her, Anthony," Dondi had warned him a few weeks ago over dinner, "where men like this ex-boyfriend are concerned you have to understand that things are very sensitive for Julia."_

_"But Dondi--"_

_"'But Dondi' nothing" she'd said sternly. She'd stopped herself, setting her fork down on the table and placing her hand on top of his as she looked at him gently. "Anthony, what you've got to understand is that, just because you're comfortable with using the words 'domestic violence', doesn't mean Julia is. It's different for a woman like that. She doesn't think of herself that way because nobody sees her that way. To her, it's all troubled water under the bridge, and you've got to be gentle, baby. You let her say what she needs to say, and you just listen--and love her."_

Anthony had nodded his head in response, and, as he sat here now, looking at her, he felt a little lost for what to do in spite of Dondi's advice, so he hesitated momentarily before asking softly, "Are you saying Reese hit you sometimes, baby?"

Julia looked up at him and hesitated, shrugging her shoulders and shifting slightly. "He could get mad sometimes...I never bruised, though" she said, looking at him with an expression that told Anthony she still hadn't completely processed the seriousness of what she was saying. 

The silence in the room hung over Anthony like a cloud, and his brain was frantically racing to think of how best to continue this conversation without saying something he shouldn't. After a few moments, he looked up at her and said softly, "Were you ever afraid of Reese, Julia?"

He watched as Julia averted her gaze, and panicked a little, fearing she would shut down out of shame, or guilt. Thankfully, after a few moments she spoke up again. "Hmm...there were just times when he could get a little...abus--" She stopped short, shifting again in her seat and looking at the ground. "It was a bit much sometimes, I suppose."

Anthony reached over--slowly, as his back was still throbbing away--and stroked her shoulder gently, looking deeply into her eyes. "Julia, you know that nothing that happened between you and Reese was ever your fault, right?"

"Oh, well, sometimes I think I tried too hard to make him happy. You know how I am, always doing, and pushing, and insisting. But he wasn't always like that, Anthony" Julia said firmly, shaking her head slightly. 

Inside, Anthony felt a small part of himself die at the realization that she was still blaming herself for what happened, but the image of Dondi flashed into his mind at that same moment, and he knew it was a sign not to push her any further, or to argue with her. 

_"You argue with her, you'll make things worse" Dondi had said, narrowing her eyes at him._

_"Dondi, she thinks it's her--"_

_"Anthony, you have to give her time. This isn't your fight, baby, and if you fight her on this she'll stop talking to you. She's talking to you bit by bit because she's still trying to test the waters, to see what people say. This ain't your time to do the talkin', child, it's her time."_

Reluctantly, Anthony sighed a little, and decided to retreat, and drop the matter. He smiled up at her, and said, "Well, you know, baby, when you do for me, it makes me happy. I like your doing, and your pushing, and your insisting, because it means you love me. So you can push ol' Anthony anytime you want, cause it'll only make me love you more."

At this, Julia brightened and smiled at him, leaning over and kissing his cheek as she stroked his leg. "I love you, Anthony" she said softly.

"I love you too, baby" he said, leaning back against the couch once more.

"Darlin', can I ask you something?" Julia said, looking at him curiously.

"Sure, baby, what's that?"

"Why did you want to do this exercise thing, anyway? You're in great shape, Anthony, you don't need to pump any iron at five in the morning."

Anthony looked away self-consciously before looking up at her again and saying, "If I tell you, you promise you won't make fun of me?"

"Promise!" Julia said, raising her right hand as if she were swearing an oath.

"I was impressin' you" Anthony said, throwing her a look that told her that he knew the idea was as stupid as it sounded. If the ache in his back hadn't confirmed that for him, the sound of the words coming out of his mouth would've done the trick.

"Impressing me--why Anthony, you don't have to do anything to impress me, certainly nothing like this. I understand you wanting to support Charlene in her... _fitness frenzy_ ," she said, recalling how Charlene had fallen off the deep end two weeks ago and come back from lunch in a track suit and head band, "but I like you the way you are, Anthony."

"Yeah, I liked me the way I was too" he said, wincing in pain as he shook his head. 

Julia stifled a giggle and scooted closer to him, looking at him tenderly. "I guess neither one of us are any good at New Year's resolutions."

"No," Anthony replied, shaking his head vigorously, "no we are not, but at least yours had a better outcome. You broke yours after falling for me, I broke mine after I couldn't move anymore, it's not the same."

At this Julia laughed, looking over at the clock and noticing it was nearing six at night. "Well, how about this, hun. I'll go make us both some supper, and you can spend the night here. I'm not taking no for an answer, Anthony. I want to take care of you, and I'm going to do it whether you like it or not."

Anthony looked up at her as she stood, hovering over him with an expression of such determination on her face he couldn't help but smile. "You know what, baby--if you insist on loving me, I will absolutely let you."

At this, Julia grinned happily, reaching gently toward him and planting a kiss on his lips before disappearing into the kitchen to make dinner. As the sounds and scents of dinner wafted into the living room, Anthony knew it was time to make a new resolution for himself. He decided instead to resolve to love Julia in a way no other man had ever done, and to protect her from as much harm and suffering as he possibly could. 

He knew this, at least, was a promise he could keep.


End file.
